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Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. For more information, please see the Permissions and Copyright page on the West Virginia and Regional History Center website.

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No special access restriction applies.

Preferred Citation

[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], James M. Guiher, Sr., Lawyer and Politician, Papers, A&M 3464, West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, Morgantown, West Virginia.

Biographical / Historical

Born in Smithfield, Pennsylvania, James M. Guiher, Sr., earned an A.B. degree from West Virginia University and a law degree from Harvard Law School. He was a veteran of World War I, serving as a first lieutenant in the 316th Infantry, 79th Division, and was seriously wounded in action near Verdun, France. A noted trial lawyer, Guiher became a senior member of the law firm of Steptoe and Johnson at their Clarksburg office. Guiher was elected to the West Virginia House of Delegates from Harrison County, 1927-1928, and was a director of the Union National Bank, the Clarksburg Chamber of Commerce, and the American Legion. He was a dynamic community leader in Clarksburg and participated actively in several fraternal organizations. Guiher also served as the president of the West Virginia University Foundation and was awarded WVU's Order of Vandalia. He was a close friend of fellow attorney, Louis A. Johnson, who was 2nd Secretary of Defense from 1949-1950.